Sibal to fight it out for Hardik in Supreme Court

Ahmedabad, Nov 4 (IANS) Congress leader and eminent lawyer Kapil Sibal has been slated to take up cudgels on behalf of young Patel leader Hardik Patel, who faces sedition charges, in the Supreme Court.

The Gujarat Police slapped the charges for Patel’s allegedly incendiary remarks and speeches during his four-month protests to demand quotas for Patels in government jobs and educational institutions.

This comes even as the 22-year-old son of a BJP activist has been handed over to Surat police again after his remand period with the Ahmedabad Crime Branch ended on Tuesday evening.

Patel, first arrested on sedition charges by the Surat police on October 19 and remanded to custody till October 23, was picked up the same day by the Ahmedabad police on the same charge.

He was also booked for insulting the national flag, which he reportedly held upside down during a protest ahead of an India-South Africa cricket match in Rajkot on October 18.

Patel got bail but was arrested for sedition the next day.

Patel, convenor of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), told an Ahmedabad metropolitan court that he was remanded to police custody but was not asked a single question over three days and just made to sit.

His father had challenged the sedition case in the Gujarat High Court on October 20, a day after his arrest, through advocate B.M. Mangukiya. The high court has reserved its order.

Mangukiya said certain criminal sections against Patel in the sedition case had not been dropped and this was why an application had been filed in the apex court, which will be taken up by Kapil Sibal.

Meanwhile, a habeas corpus petition is hanging fire in the Gujarat High Court, which was filed by his two supporters on the night of September 22 and 23 alleging that Patel was kidnapped.